Collapsible dispensing tube and closure therefor



1954 E. J. ROBERTSON 65,

COLLAPSIBLE DISPENSING TUBE AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Filed Sept. 14, 1950 INVENTOR. 2714625730 Patented Jan. 5, 1954 UNIT ED STATES OFFICE COLLAPSIBLEDISPENSINGiTUBE'ANDr CLOSURE THERE-FOR.,..

Edwin J'; Robertson, Ghica'go,--Ill."-

Application September 14, 1950., SeriaLNo. 184,765.

4 Claims.-

This invention relatesltodispensmgdevicesand more particularly to a novelv andimprovedclosure for a collapsible dispensingtubel It has .been .common practice in. the..prior..=art to provide collapsibletubes. of tin,..aluminum...;or

plastic materials as containers .for various liquid andsemi-liquid commoditiessuch as creams,.cosmetics, .toothpaste,-. etc, andsa number .of .diiferent types of closures have. beenproposed for thesetubes. The conventional.screwcapis commonly used,. as have been various types. of .yalhvelike nozzlesv and. injector tips These have been unsatisfactory in certain respects, .however, for several. reasons.

In .the first place, they. have been comparatively expensive. Moreover,.their.design hasbeen such that if the.materia1.is discharged.from,. ,the tube in small quantities from time to time,.ithe dispensing means is quite apt to be clogged and obstructed by solidification of the;material. .In

other instances, the inadequate. 'sealprovided has a closure for a collapsible.dispensingutube...which opens up an entirelynewfield mainly in theme and application of plastic..materials as .a sub stitute for expensive metal tubes..-.1\/Iore. specifically, 'it providesa closure. having meansfor. convenientlydispensing .small. amounts ,of .liquid,

powder, cream, paste, .or semi-liquid..material froma collapsible tube, with means for effecting a tight seal thereon, and means for collapsing thedisp'ensing. channelof the tube along sub- If the tube contents. is to .beused stantiallythe entire length thereof to prevent the. possibility of solidification of the.contents of the tube in the dispensing channel and to thus prevent clogging of the dispensing channel during. periods of nonuse. of the dispenser turing methodsJand will be lower in .cost than comparabladispensers heretoforeproposed.,.

Byithe; accomplishment. .of .these objects, the present .inventionllmakes possible. an, extension to theiuseiof collapsible tubes. .for. packagingof consumergoods, 'WhichQin turnresults in improvedesanitary -conditi'ons...and..lower cost in merchandising of many-commodities not heretofore packaged. in.containers, .of this. kind, the said dispenser being. .of great. convenience. and utilityto theconsumernver previousv practices. Th'efinvention will .bedesoribed in connection with an illustration .of thepreferred embodiment thereof,..shown in ,theldrawings ,of the present specification, wherein;

Figiire..-l is a frontelevational .viewlof .a collapsible' dispensing tube as contemplated. bythis invention,.. the. tubebeing shown in closed. and sealed position;

Figure ,2 is a side'ielcvationalyiew of the tube illustrated in Figural, showing theclosure thereof in open positionto illustrate the manner :in which the contentstof the tube maybe idispensed;

Figure3 is a detail cross-sectional .view taken substantiallyjon. theplane. of theline. 33 of Figure 2, illustratinglthejmanner. in which the closure device .is automaticallyopened by pressure on the tube;

Figure 4 is a detailsectional,.view similarto Figure .3, showing. the .closure .device .inclosed position; and

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the plane .of the. line 5-5.

The form. of .thelinvention shown here is designed specifically. for usein connection with a collabsibltubular? dispenser lil. In, the preferredform illustratedgthis. comprises .an extruded'tube of thine-transparent, flexible plastic materialisuchias polyethylene, for example, A polyethylene..tubehaving a thickness. of oneto fou'r thousandths of aninch is satisfactory for most purposes, but thinner .or heavier. containers may be utilizedla's desired.

The. lowenend. of tl1e.tube,,may-.be sealed in any.conventionapmanner as by heat sealing, by

the application of .av crimped clamp; or by tying in 'the 'jmanner illustrated at .H. -,The upper end of theltubelis provided.. with ..a dispensing device whereinthenovelty of the-present:invention re- A further. objectof the-invention is to provide an improved closure...device: :as "indicatedabove, wherein .the .sealing..devices :are more airtight than.;.those heretofore proposedpyet are-"more conveniently opened andclosed; A still further object of the invention .is .to iproviole a closure for a collapsibletubeaccomplishing both-Jot the above-mentioned.ain1s,- yet ofsuch design and construction that it may be conveniently manufactured by the use or" conventional machinery and produced in quantity -by modern manufacside's.

" As .will be .apparentqfrom Figures 2 and-mi, the'lupper. end-of "the; tube flattened and the oppositeside wallsareheatfsealed together in an area 53 extendinglacrossta majorepart of the tube. .This..-heat sealed. section: may .con-

venientlyfiextend fromone. edge. 14% of vtheflattened' tube to a line 15 spaced from. the opposite edge [6 thereof so as toprovide a dispensing channel-"ll alongwne "edgeflof the tube'at its upper--endr I-he channel ll maybe tapered as shown; or 'may'be of uniform width"throughout. its length:

The heat sealed portion I3 of the tube carries a pair of transverse strips l8 secured thereon by any convenient means, as by the staples I9. These strips 58 are positioned on opposite sides of the flattened portion of the tube, so that their free ends provide apair of resilient flaps 2i disposed on the opposite sides of the dispensing channel 1'! (Figure 3). The strips 18 are conveniently formed of a. paper or plastic of sufficient stiifness as to present a flrm edge 22 along the outer side thereof, but are sufficiently yieldable that when pressure is exerted on the contents of the tube, the flaps 2! may flex apart and allow the material within the tube to be discharged at 23 (Figure 3). When the desired amount of the contents of the tube has been discharged, the resiliency of the end flaps 2i on the strips 58 tends to close the dispensing channel from the position of Figure 3 to the position illustrated in Figure 4. If desired, this action can be aided by pressing the flaps together with the fingers, as illustrated. This will completely close the dispensing channel l7, and discharge all material from it.

The dispensing channel may be tightly sealed by folding the end portion 26 of the tube back over one of the strips 58 and applying a spring clip 25 thereon to maintain it in position (Figure 1). This seal may be permanently maintained by applying a light spring clip or metal overset 25 thereon.

It is to be noted, however, that the clip 25 need not be clamped tightly on the tube, since any pressure exerted on the tube when closed will first tend to force material into the portion of the dispensing channel extending between the ends 21 of the transverse strips i8. This will tend to press these strips apart in such a manner as to exert closing pressure on the end portion of the dispensing channel which is held immediately under the retaining clip 25. It therefore follows that the exertion of any 01 the squeezing forces on the tube merely seals the discharge orifice all the tighter and eliminates the need for any screws, clamps or tightening devices.

From the above description it should be apparent that the teachings of the present invention provide a closure for collapsible tubes which is of extreme simplicity and capable of manufacture at a cost far less than the cost incident to conventional devices of this type, yet is capable of affording a more airtight seal than heretofore accomplished. It is so designed and constructed that the material in the tube may be quickly and easily discharged as required, yet will exhibit no tendency to solidify in the dispensing channel, evaporate in the tube, or otherwise deteriorate. The end of the discharge channel of the dispenser is entirely covered when not in use, and the channel is closed throughout its entire length. The closure is, moreover, of a pressure sealing type such that internal pressure on the tube contents serves only to exert increased pressure tending to hold the discharge channel thereof closed, and effectively prevents any leakage of the dispenser even when utilized for thin, non-viscous liquids.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A dispensing device comprising, in combination, an elongated, generally cylindrical tube of thin, pliable material, with one end of said tube permanently closed and the opposite end 4 thereof flattened and sealed to provide an integral closed section extending partially across the tube to define an expansible dispensing chan nel therealong; with closing means comprising a pair of thin, flat, elongated, resilient transverse strips each secured to the closed section on one side only and at a point spaced from the end of the tube and on opposite sides thereof, each of said strips having a free end flap extending across the dispensing channel and adapted to bear on the wall thereof; the end of the tube being foldable back over one of said strips to close the dispensing channel, and means for holding said end of the tube in folded position.

2. A dispensing device comprising, in combination, an elongated, generally cylindrical tube of thin, pliable material, with one end of said tube permanently closed and the opposite end thereof flattened and sealed to provide an integral closed section extending from one edge across a major portion of the tube but terminating short of the other edge thereof to define an expansible dispensing channel therealong; with closing means comprising a pair of resilient transverse strips each secured to the closed section at a point spaced from the end of the tube and on opposite sides thereof, each of said strips having a free end flap extending across the dispensing channel and adapted to bear on the wall thereof; the end of the tube being foldable back over one of said strips to close the dispensing channel.

3. A dispensing device comprising, in combination, an elongated, generally cylindrical tube of thin, pliable material, with one end of said tube flattened and sealed to provide a closed section extending partially across the tube to define an expansible dispensing channel therealong; closing means attached to said closed section having a firm edge extending transversely across the dispensing channel at a point spaced from the end of the tube, the end of the tube being foldable back over said edge to close the channel to provide a seal therefor; together with a spring clip holding said end of the tube in folded position.

4. A dispensing device comprising, in combination, an elongated, generally cylindrical tube of thin, pliable material, with one end of said tube flattened and sealed to provide a closed section extending from one edge across a major portion of the tube but terminating short of the other edge thereof to define an expansible dispensing channel therealong; with closing means attached to said closed section having a firm edge extending transversely across the dispensing channel at a point spaced from the end of the tube, the end of the tube being foldable back over said edge to close the channel.

EDWIN J. ROBERTSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,714,741 Urquhart May 28, 1929 1,841,934 Brown Jan. 19, 1932 1,945,612 Lacher Feb. 6, 1934 1,964,860 Rabe et al. July 3, 1934 2,043,924 Cowley June 9, 1936 2,293,182 Vogt Aug. 18, 1942 2,446,308 Smith Aug. 3, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 8,766 Australia Jan. 13, 1928 

